Zverevo residents postpone hunger strike after meeting city officials

After meeting officials of the regional administration, the initiative group of residents of the city of Zverevo, Rostov Region, decided to postpone their hunger strike, which was scheduled because of unsolved problems with inflated tariffs on housing and communal services and absence of ration coal.

Nikolai Chekmaryov, a member of the initiative group, told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent that on February 1 a group of townspeople had a meeting with governmental official of the Rostov Region.

"The meeting was caused by the hunger strike announced by citizens from February 5. Our extreme step of protest was caused by overvalued tariffs on heating and water supply, and non-fulfilled demand to provide ration coal to 62 retired miners, widows of miners and miners-invalids," the protester has explained.

According to his story, during the two-month-long picket and six months of opposition the city administration failed to take any steps to meet the protesters and listen to their complaints. "Now, regional officials have come to solve the problems," said Chekmaryov.

"Regarding miners-pensioners, it was decided to address the owner of the company; and regarding the tariffs, the head of the Regional service of tariffs of the Region promised to meet the initiative group on February 5, in order to study the calculations till the end of the next week and make a decision," said Valery Dyakonov, a Deputy of the City Duma of Zverevo, and explained that the initiative group has decided to postpone the hunger strike until they know the results of the meeting.